Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music is an accessible introduction to international music and culture. Including conversations with dozens of artists from five continents, it explores the breadth of the world music experience through the voices of the musicians themselves. In the process, it gives a unique view of the interactions of a globalizing society and introduces readers to some of the most fascinating and thoughtful artists working on the current scene. Artists profiled include Oumou Sangare, Caetano Veloso, Ravi Shankar, Paco de Lucía, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and many more.
Elijah Wald is a writer and musician who speaks several languages and has travelled widely around the world, first as a hitchhiking street musician and later as a somewhat more serious researcher. His books include Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention ofthe Blues (2004); Narcocorrido: A Journey into t he Musicof Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas (2001); Josh White:Society Blues (2000, 2002) and River of Song: Music Alongthe Mississippi (1998; with John Junkerman).